Legends
by Caeci
Summary: The Flock is on the run, trying to avoid as much Whitecoat, Eraser, and Jeb Batchhelder crap as they can,but that's not really going to happen. They encounter a crazy pyro named Phoenix with a dark past and a connection to the Flock. She shows up and offers the Flock something they can't refuse, a safe haven where they can be themselves, as far away from the School as possible.
1. Why is it Always Maine?

This is the Revised Version of the Revised Version of Project: Phoenix, although it probably has another name…

Sorry to anyone who liked it, but it's going to be better this time! I know, that's what I said last time I rewrote this story, but I solemnly swear that I am up to no- I mean I solemnly swear I will do a better time writing this story this time around!

/

"Max?" Angel said, trying to get my attention.

"Yes sweetie?" I replied while effortlessly gliding closer to her.

"I was just wondering if we could land and grab some food. We haven't eaten since breakfast. It's already five in the afternoon."

"Sure thing, come on guys, lets land." I called to the rest of the Flock. All six of us aimed downward and prepared to land. We'd been flying four six hours straight trying to get as far away as possible from Jeb and all the other crap we usually contend with. I flew down in a lazy spiral, gracefully landing on my feet on a worn down asphalt road. The Flock followed suit. I shook out my legs to try to get out the pins and needles out of my feet while drawing my wings back and folding them neatly in the indentation between my shoulders.

"Where are we?" Iggy asked.

"I have no idea whatsoever." I replied, shading my eyes against sun.

"I think we're in Maine…" Fang interjected.

"How could you possibly know that?"

He said nothing, but pointed to a wooden sign behind me that read: "WELCOME TO TENANTS HARBOR, MAINE!" Underneath the text was a fading, painted Barn Owl.

"Ah." I replied simply. "Now, there should be some kind of gas station or restaurant around here."

Nudge tapped on my shoulder. "I think I saw a store or something about a mile back," she told me.

"Lead the way."

The Flock and I started to trek across the uneven ground. I was careful to make sure my mud splattered combat boots didn't get stuck in a hole. Raising my head, I noticed a Barn Owl, just like the one on the sign was perched on a tree near us. The forest that surrounded us was thick, except where the road cut through it. The owl gave a cry and took off the branch, speeding into the setting sun. Gray clouds covered the normally azure sky. We had been flying just underneath them for a great deal of our journey. A snowflake began to drift down from the sky and it landed on my jacket.

"We need to find shelter soon." I told my flock. "It's starting to snow."

We sped up, and finally reached the store ten minutes later. It was a red brick coffee house called The Cottage. The snow was beginning to fall thickly around us. The dim lights from the shops' ceiling seemed cozy compared to outside. The heating was on and we all breathed out in a sigh of relief as we warmed up. There was no one else in the shop except for a girl and a boy a few years older than us. The girl was behind the counter, and was wearing a green apron type thing over a red shirt and black jeans. Her auburn hair was tucked up into a gray fedora, with only a few strands hanging down. The boy was mopping up a spill, had blue hair, and also wore jeans, but they were faded and raggedy. A long sleeved, button up shirt covered up his arms.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The girl asked. As I got closer, I noticed a nametag on her apron that said her name was Phoebe.

"Nah, we just kind of came here to warm up." I replied with a smile.

She smiled back. "Trust me; you're not the only person to have done that. The weather up here can be really brutal, but you get used to it. Hey, Karac! She said to the boy. Why don't you set these guys up with a hot chocolate?"

"Oh, we don't have any money." I said.

"Don't worry about it, our family own this store. We've been giving people free drinks since before my and Karac were born!"

"It's true." Karac mumbled from the corner. His voice was deep, which fit his fit, muscular, and tall physique. I shook my head getting all thoughts about his appearance out of my head. He went over to a large espresso machine and grabbed six white porcelain cups. The delightful smell of chocolate wafted over to us and Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel quickly grabbed the first three cups. Fang, Iggy, and I took ours semi-tentatively. Phoebe directed us to a couple of couches in the back. She grabbed a cup herself and sat down with us.

"So, what brings you guys to our little shop?" Phoebe asked, taking a small sip from her mug. "We don't get very many here in the Harbor, and never a group as young as you! How old are you three?" she gestured to me, Fang, and Iggy.

"Eighteen." I quickly lied as Nudge started to open her mouth. "We're eighteen."

"Hm, well you do look like it. I'm nineteen, and Karac is eighteen like you guys." She looked over at the three kids. "It seems like you guys need more hot chocolate."

They had already finished their first cups and weren't showing any signs of unconsciousness, but I still didn't really trust the two young adults who conveniently had a store right where we'd landed. Phoebe got up and took the three empty cups that were lying on a small oak table in front of the plush brown couches.

"Can I get you guys anything else? We have a bunch of bakery goods we were going t have to throw out, but you can have them if you don't mind them being stale."

Nudge took that as an invitation to start blabbing. "We don't mind at all. We've eaten a lot worse than stale bagels like that time we ate a ra-"

"No we don't mind." Angel interrupted, stopping her.

"I'll go get them for you then." Phoebe replied cheerfully. Karac took the cups from her as she went back behind the counter. I noticed his walk for the first time. He did a kind of slow, shuffle, almost as if it was uncomfortable to walk.

"Are you okay?" Gazzy asked rudely. "It looks like you hurt yourself."

"Nah, kid. I'm fine. It's just this weather, freezes up the joints and all. It's no problem." Karac replied good humouredly, but he still mumbled.

"Here's those bakery goods." Phoebe interjected, popping up from behind the counter. She held a few pans full of scones, bagels, and the like.

I still couldn't believe how good these people were being to us. I just knew on the inside that this was definitely going to end well.

/

If any of you had read my previous version of this, you probably know who Phoebe and Karac are, but hey, they're different already!


	2. Never Trust the Coffee Shop Employess

I don't really feel like saying anything here, so I'm just going to continue with the story.

BTW: I don't own Maximum Ride, forgot to put that in last chapter…

/

We sat there in silence, well, almost silence. Iggy and Gazzy were trying to have a "how many bagels can we eat in five minutes" contest and they're chewing was really distracting. Phoebe and Nudge started giggling hysterically when Iggy's mouth got glued shut by a chocolate chip bagel and he was desperately trying to drink hot chocolate to get it unstuck. After calming herself, Phoebe got up to look through the window.

"Well, there's good news and there's bad news." she reported. "The snow has been piling up against the front door for the last half hour, so I'll have to go out and shovel it out by hand.

"What's the good news?" I asked her.

"I have no idea. I just thought I shouldn't say, well 'I have bad news for you and bad news for me'. Of course, you guys can just sit out here."

"I can do it for you Phoebe." Karac mumbled.

"No, Karac, you know that isn't a good idea." she glared at him intensely. "I can do it."

She took off her apron and walked over to the door. Pulling it open, a wave of cold air permeated the whole shop. Phoebe grabbed a shovel from beside the door and set to work. It took no time at all, and when she came back in, her hat, clothes, and shoes were coated in a light dusting of snow.

"Now guys," she said. "You can't stay in this shop overnight. There's a little motel a little ways down the road. It doesn't have a name, but we're good friends with the owners. Just tell them Phoebe and Karac sent you, and they'll probably give you a free room. You might get a free breakfast too, if the younger kids can look as cute as humanly possible. The road can get kind of slippery, so be careful!"

"Thanks, I don't know how we can possibly repay you." I told her, smiling.

"No need, you gave me and my brother company for the evening. In my book, that's more than enough to pay someone with."

I sent a glare towards the Flock, hoping my silent signal would encourage them to thank them.

"Thank you!" Nudge said, as did Gazzy, and Angel. Fang and Iggy mumbled their thanks, as was typical in their behavior. We braced ourselves to the cold as we opened the doors that were once again being covered in snow. We walked a few hundred feet before we shook out our wings and took flight.

Back at the coffee shop, Phoebe turned back to Karac after losing the group in the snow. "Are you ready to go, Karac?"

Her brother smiled, and replied. "Always."

He unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled it off, then followed with the white undershirt underneath it. His skin was tattooed with blue octopus tentacles, wrapping around his arms, and torso. Phoebe smiled back, and shook off her hat, and her hair cascaded down her back. She went to the back room and took a black trench coat off a hook. Putting it on, she returned to where her brother was standing.

"You know, I've always wanted to go on a bird hunt." Karac said.

"Yeah, me too, let's just hope there's lots of firewood." She pulled a lighter out of her pocket and flicked it on, admiring the flame. "We should head out. We don't want them to reach the motel before we do, otherwise Rochester and Hyacinth to have all the fun."

/

(Insert Scary Ominous Music Here)

Sorry about the shortness of this chapter. I promise the next one will be longer, and the mystery of the two new people Phoebe and Karac mention will be solved!

Please Review!


	3. Or Underage Innkeepers

I LOVE SUMMER! (Well, except for the weather… *sniff* I MISS SNOW!) BUT I LOVE SUMMER! It has distracted me greatly from updating… That and Netflix and Diablo 3…

Anywho…

/

It took barely time at all for the Flock to reach the motel that Phoebe had talked about. It was dingy and run down with holes in the ceiling and most of the wooden stairs were missing. Fang gave Max a look that said _this is either really good or really bad…_

Max straightened up and tightened her jacket around her arms, because of the cold. The snow was almost a foot deep, and all of the kids were soaking wet and turning blue. As the leader, Max took it upon herself to go up to the door first and knock. The door creaked open in a totally non-cliched manner, and she stepped inside into the warmth of the building. She waved everyone else inside, deeming it safe. The room was sparsely furnished, with only a couple worn out chairs and a wooden counter. Two figures pulled away from the shadows and positioned themselves behind the desk. One was a boy and the other a girl, about twenty years old, with very different coloring. The boy looked a lot like Nudge, but much bigger and taller and with more muscles. He wore a simple T-Shirt and jeans. The girl's eyes were covered with her hair, as black as a raven's feathers, and layered around her face. Her skin was a dark tan, but still pale in comparison to the boy.

"Hello, how may we help you?" asked the girl in a rasping voice.

"Phoebe and Karac sent us…?" Maximum said nervously.

The girl's face turned up in a smile. "Ah, yes, Phoebe told us you'd be arriving shortly. My name is Hyacinth, and this is Rochester, he'll take you to your rooms."

Rochester nodded and made his way to a rickety set of stairs. Everyone but Angel followed him. She was staring intently at Hyacinth. With the others looking away, Hyacinth's smile faded and was replaced by an animalistic snarl. Angel noticed her hands were covered in black gloves that matched her all black clothing. Unnerved, Angel retreated to the stairs, grasping Max's hand.

When they were isolated in their room they were to share with Nudge, Angel whispered "I don't trust them. We should leave. Now."

Max trusted Angel's instinct, and she was getting a similar feeling so she replied. "Alright sweetie, I'll go get the boys."

She knocked on the shared wall to indicate they should leave. There was a window that as big enough for them to climb through, so they did. The Flock reunited twenty feet away from the hotel, and ran off into the night.

TWO MINUTES LATER…

"Are they gone?" Hyacinth asked Rochester, who nodded in reply. "Good."

She shook her hair out of her face, revealing solid yellow eyes with small black slits, like a snake. When she removed her gloves, she flexed her fingers, stretching out her long black claws she had in place of fingernails. The skin on her fingers was scaly and had a slight greenish tinge. Hyacinth hopped up onto the counter and removed her heavy boots, letting her irregular feet out of their confinement. When she hopped down, she only stepped on the fronts of her feet, letting her backward facing toe off the ground. She only had four toes in all, and they were scaly and green, tipped with black claws similar to her fingers.

"How long until Phoebe gets here?"

Rochester held up one finger to signal she'd be there very soon.

"A minute, hmph. I could run after them in that amount of time." Hyacinth crossed her arms. "At this pace we'll never meet the deadline."

Rochester shrugged in reply, and crossed over to the front door, opening it for Phoebe, who stepped in confidently, shaking off the snow from her coat.

"Kraken is in position." Phoebe told them. "Roc, take to the air, Hydra, run as fast as you can, get ahead of them."

"What are you going to do, Phoenix?" Hydras asked.

"I'm going to have a little conversation with the 'leader' of the Flock."

/

I know I promised this chapter would be longer, but my rainbow of Imagination has run dry. Must watch "The Idiot Box" episode of SpongeBob to renew sense of purpose…


	4. Chapter 4 Since Title Names are Hard

The Flock settled down near a very wide and very deep river. The water was absolutely freezing, as Gazzy found out the hard way (namely, jumping in shirtless and shoeless) so they retreated to line of trees that followed the bank of the river. Fang immediately set off for firewood while Iggy tried to find a dry match and/or a lighter in his pockets. Eventually he found one and set the tinder ablaze, feeding it into the small pile of wood that was to be their campfire. Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy were given the job of clearing away any small sticks or stones within fifteen feet of the fire. The snow fall had lightened considerably, until there were only a few tiny snowflakes gliding lazily down. Max sat near the edge of the river, having a conversation with the Voice.

_Okay Voice. _Max thought. _Now is a really good time for some advice._

_**You want to know about the two people at the hotel.**_

_Of course I do! _Max yelled back in her head. _Were they trying to kill us or not?_

_**You will learn the truth when it presents itself.**_

_Great. Real helpful._ Max got up angrily and brushed herself off, heading back to the fire to warm her almost numb extremities.

Before long, nightfall overtook the blue sky, scattering the dark blue sky with stars. None of the Flock were asleep, all of them worried about the days events. Angel and Total curled up near a tree, while Nudge and Gazzy played rock paper scissors to prevent boredom. Iggy stared gazelessly into the fire while Max and Fang sat next to each other, watching the forest for intruders.

Iggy felt her coming before the rest saw her. A girl clothed in a black jacket and with red hair crashed into the clearing, her face streaked with tears and her face red.

"Help me! He's going to kill me!" Phoebe exclaimed, as she dodged behind a tree. The Flock all snapped to attention getting to their feet and preparing to face danger.

"Whoa, hold on." Max soothed, coming up behind the frightened girl.

"He's going to kill me." Phoebe wailed, piercing the air with her screams. Max clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Be quiet Phoebe." Max hissed. "Now tell us _quietly _who's trying to kill you."

"Karac! He attacked me!" she whispered.

"Your brother?" Fang said. "Why would he try to kill you?"

"I-I-I-I don't know!" Phoebe started to wail again. "He-He- Oh, god this is too good."

Phoebe suddenly dropped character, her face returning to its normal hue. She wiped her face with a sleeve, revealing the tears were fake. The overall transformation unnerved the entire Flock. Phoebe walked away from Max, closer to the fire.

"Phoebe?" Nudge whispered.

"First off, the name's not Phoebe, its Phoe_nix_. Got that, good, now down to business, oh quit it with the stares, I feel like I've got something in my teeth. I don't do I?"

Phoenix ran her tongue over her teeth, and smirked. "I don't good, god that would have been embarrassing, you know, me trying to be all badass and stuff, which I am."

"What are you-?" Max began to speak, but Phoenix interrupted.

"I was just getting to that! Geez, a girl tries to get the spotlight, and…" Phoenix suddenly swung her head towards Angel. "Don't you dare get in my head, or I'll tell all of your friends here your big secret."

Angel's sweet blue eyes grew in shock, and she stopped trying to probe Phoebe, that is Phoenix's mind.

"Good." Phoenix smiled creepily, and she turned back towards Max and Fang. "Now look, I'm not the bad guy. I'm the good guy. It's my job to make sure that genetic experiments like us are delivered to a safe haven. Oh, and I can legally kill whoever I want to, so don't cross me."

Max was starting to get angry, and just before she was about to tackle Phoenix to the ground, the Voice cut in. _**Don't do anything drastic Max. A mistake here can cost you your life.**_

"What do you mean genetic experiments 'like us'?" Iggy asked.

"Why, I'm just like you!" Phoenix said mysteriously. "But not really, so I'm not going to tell you. Now, are you going to come peacefully with me, or are you going to try to tackle me?"

Max stared Phoenix down, but she didn't move.

"Great!" Phoenix exclaimed, and she turned her back. In that instant, Max and Fang grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her down to the ground.

"Gazzy get the rope!" Fang said loudly.

"Got it!" Gazzy replied, rummaging through one of their packs until he found a nylon rope and tossed it to Fang, who then tied Phoenix's wrists together, and looped them around her ankles, immobilizing them.

"Okay, Boy Scout, you tied me up." She said to Fang. "Now what are you going to do?"

Fang and the rest of the Flock moved away from her, huddling in a circle to decide her fate. The entire time, Phoenix talked, whispered, yelled, sang, whatever she could do to annoy the crap out of them. Max grew tired of her, and grabbed a handy roll of duct tape, taping her mouth shut.

"Mmmprhmmpmpph." Phoenix's words were muffled, and she finally shut up. "Mmmph."


	5. Strike a Pose!

Phoenix was still tied up an hour later, and she was really bored. Losing the ability to speak, due to the duct tape on her mouth, prevented her ability to drive people up the wall. So she decided to have some fun.

"MMMPH!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "MMMMMMMPHMMMPH!"

Max walked over annoyed, but curious. "What do you want?"

"Mmphmphmm." Phoenix replied, her speech still unintelligible. Max ripped the duct tape off painfully, but unlike most people, Phoenix didn't flinch.

"Thanks for that blondie." The ginger tossed her hair. "Look, I'm going to give you one last chance. I'm offering you peace and quiet, a place where you can be yourself, Max."

"Let me think… No."

"Really?'

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you really, really sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you so sure that if all of the world's governments were about to suddenly collapse because you wouldn't come with me that you would be okay with the Apocalypse soon to follow?"

Max gave her a questioning look, and then replied. "No."

"Well… Okay, see you later." Phoenix pulled her hands and feet apart, handed Max the rope, which was in two pieces and severely singed. "Toodle-Oo!"

Max immediately sprang into action, aiming a punch right at her head, which Phoenix easily ducked. Fang heard the short scuffle and came running, joining in the fight. Phoenix had her hands in her coat pockets, dodging punches. She backed up quickly, and came right to the edge of the river.

"This has been fun. Kraken!" she yelled out into the night. "Roc, Hydra!"

A pale hand appeared on the surface of the water, then a head of blue hair and a pale torso, covered in tentacle tattoos. Kraken (or Karac) surfaced from beneath the deep water and walked slowly and menacingly towards the two. A dark shape appeared in front of the moon and dipped down until they hovered ten feet above the ground. It was Rochester, and he had two giant sets of wings, at least seventeen feet across, and a dark brown color. The last to arrive was Hyacinth, who darted out of the trees, and stood in a crouched position, with believe it or not, a long scaly tail twirling around her legs.

"Strike a pose!" Phoenix said playfully. "Let's get going guys. We've got an appointment to keep."

Kraken took Phoenix by the arm and the two plunged into the river as Roc grabbed Hydra around the chest and pulled her into the air.

The rest of the Flock had been hiding behind a few trees as Fang had instructed when he ran to help Max. They slowly moved away from the trees and towards the two eldest.

"What just happened?" Nudge asked Max, still unsure of what happened.

"I think we just got pwned." Iggy said in a quiet voice, which made Gazzy crack up. One look from Fang shut the younger boy up quickly.

"I think we'll find out who they are soon." Angel spoke up. "Phoenix said so."

The Flock all whipped around to face her. Max spoke first. "When did she tell you that sweetie?"

"When I tried to read her mind." Angel picked up Total from the ground. He had been strangely silent for most of the week, which was unusual, but at least he wouldn't talk all the time. "She told me."

"Did you get anything from her?"

Angel shook her head. "I tried, but her mind is weird, like looking through a broken window. It's as if her mind shattered and it was super glued back together."

"Great, now we have a crazy, fire toting, red haired girl with a passion for killing people on our tail." Max said. "What about the other three?"

"I didn't get much from them either. The lizard girl wanted to run all the time, Karac wanted to stay in the water, and the guy with the wings doesn't like snow."

"Helpful."


	6. She Put the Lime in the Coconut

Okay, so it's been a while since my last update… Sorry bout that….

Don't own Maximum Ride or The Lime in the Coconut song

/

After Phoenix's failure to bring the Flock back with her, she had found solace doing her favorite activity, lighting things on fire. Phoenix was a huge pyro, and everyone knew it (except for the Flock, of course). She had a magazine of a certain Canadian born male pop star, and she was ripping it up and setting the pieces on fire individually. She really hated that guy, he reminded her too much of a lab experiment at one of the other labs.

_What was that guy's name? _Phoenix thought to herself. _Derek, Don, Derpy, something starting with a "D"…_ _Oh well, he'll probably never get let out of that lab…_

The magazine was coming close to nonexistence when she heard a noise behind her. She sat on a rock near the river, so as to prevent a forest fire with her lighter. Over the sound of the river, she heard a cracking of branches. With a swift motion, she stood up, pulled a small explosive out of a pocket, and held her lighter to the fuse. Sparks started erupting out of the thin fuse, illuminating the dark, revealing a familiar face.

"Oh, hi Roc, I didn't see ya there." Phoenix said to the burly bird kid. She put the fuse in her mouth, extinguishing it, and slipped the explosive back in her pocket.

Roc merely nodded in reply, and looked behind her at the charred remains of the magazine. A smile crossed his face as he recognized the celebrity.

"Any news?" she asked.

He shook his head in reply. There was an awkward silence, but it was interrupted by the sound of an engine. The two cocked their heads to the side to pinpoint the sound. Roc whipped out his wings silently and took to the air to scout, as Phoenix ran a ways downriver to a clear part of the forest. There was a big black jeep barreling down the hillside, crushing bushes and young trees in its path. It's sides were pockmarked by pebbles and stones hitting the metal surface and the windshield, but the driver didn't stop. Behind it came two more jeeps, driving in the same manner as the first one. Phoenix immediately recognized them as the vehicles Erasers favored. Roc landed ten feet behind her, shaking out his wings before folding them into his spine.

"Erasers, damn, I hate those werewolf wannabees. Whaddya say, Roc? Wanna go smash some Eraser heads?"

Roc nodded in reply, and the started to run after the jeeps. Phoenix was able to catch up to one that had to back up, since it hit an especially thick patch of trees. With immense skill, she grabbed onto one of the sides, and pulled herself up and over, landing heavily on the roof of the jeep. Those inside didn't notice, because she had stayed in the blind spots, and they were paying closer attention to their prey. Phoenix crouched on the roof, swaying with the movements of the jeep to keep upright. After a quarter mile or more, the jeeps slowed drastically as they reached the Flock's encampment.

The Flock had scattered, taking to the air, except for Max and Fang, who were trying to frantically gather as much stuff as they could. Erasers in half morph filed out of the jeeps, converging on the two bird kids. Roc suddenly swooped in from nowhere, driving them back with his immense wings, forming a barrier between the Erasers and Max and Fang. Max and Fang used the diversion to gather the rest of the supplies and take to the air.

Meanwhile, Phoenix had climbed off the roof and then underneath the car. She started singing as she pulled out various explosive devices. "Brother bought a coconut he bought it for a dime. His sister had another one she paid it for a lime. She put the lime in the coconut, she drank them both up."

Max made one of her split second decisions, and swooped down, planting her feet firmly into an Eraser's face, sending him reeling backwards. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel all came down to help Roc, who was struggling with the Erasers. There were just too many of them. Phoenix jumped on top of the other jeep that was parked farther away from the others, and started hollering.

"HEY! WOLVERINE WANNABEES!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "KNOCK KNOCK!"

One of the Erasers actually replied. "Who's ther-"

The rigged jeep exploded midsentence. Phoenix jumped off of the jeep and ran over to Roc. "Heh, gets them every time."

"That was totally awesome!" Gazzy exclaimed, about to give Phoenix a high five, but Max stopped him.

The Erasers were all distracted by the exploding jeep, and were trying furiously to drive the other jeeps away from the flames. All Erasers left behind were badly injured or weren't moving.

"Why did you save us?" Max asked, marching up to Phoenix. "You betrayed us earlier."

"Actually, no I didn't. I offered you an offer, heh, and you tied me up with rope." Phoenix replied. "That and I don't like Erasers. No lab experiment from the School, or the Institute, or that place in Canada does. It's always good to have an excuse to get some payback…"

/

Alright, so I took some of Phoenix's stuff from a Deadpool comic, like her singing "Lime in the Coconut" while planting explosives. I thought it fit, so I put it in there.

Keep Calm and Sing Soft Kitty!


	7. Being a Pirate is Cool

I am feeling really motivated right now, so here's another chapter.

/

"You're from the School?" Max asked, still untrusting of the psychotic pyro. "How come we never saw you?"

"Nope, but I have been there." Phoenix admitted. "I didn't like it there, too many mad scientists, although when I was there I did get to kill a few of them. Ah, the good old days…"

Roc elbowed Phoenix in the ribs, getting her to change the subject.

"Oh and uh… Since you've just been attacked… Would you reconsider my offer?" Phoenix asked, smiling. "I wasn't lying about it. I can take you to a safe haven, where you can be yourselves. Look, I know I'm not completely trustworthy, but I don't lie…Much…"

Roc elbowed her again.

"Erm, but truly, would you consider?"

Max narrowed her eyes at Phoenix. "What kind of place are you talking about?"

"A secluded place… Very, very secluded… Because it's an island. "

"An island?" Fang asked. "Where?"

"Oh my god…" Phoenix's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "You talk?!"

Fang rolled his eyes in reply, and Phoenix returned to her normal facial expression. "Um… So yeah, there's an island off the coast of Maine, me and my friends came across it when we were running from Batchelder and his goons."

"My friends and I…" Angel whispered under her breath.

"Screw proper grammar." Phoenix replied. "Please consider coming with us. If you choose to make the right decision, meet us at this address."

Roc pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Max. Phoenix turned and ran into the forest and Roc whipped out his wings and flew into the sky.

"What are we going to do, Max?" Nudge asked.

"I don't know… Angel, did you get anything from that Roc guy?" Max asked the resident telepath.

Angel looked up at Max. "A little bit. He was a little on edge, but he was hoping we would come with them. I think Phoenix was telling the truth."

"Did you get anything from her?"

"No, it's still too hard. But I did get one thing…" Angel said. "She's seen us before, and she thought it was weird that your hair keeps going from blonde to sort of brown."

"I don't think we should trust her." Fang stated his opinion. "But I think we should check the place out."

"I agree." Max said. "Alright, does everyone else approve?"

The rest of the Flock nodded their heads up and down.

"Good. Let's start heading to this address. I think it's a harbor."

Half an hour later, the Flock touched down in front of a rickety dock. At the end of the dock, a boat awaited. It was too dark to see it clearly, but it seemed seaworthy. They could hear someone singing from the boat.

"What would you do with a drunken sailor, what would you do with a drunken sailor, what would you do with a drunken sailor early in the mornin'."

"Phoenix, please stop singing. And get off the mast, you're not a pirate." Kraken's voice rang out.

With her raptor vision, Max could see Kraken at the wheel, looking up at Phoenix, who was sitting on top of the mast.

"I can be whatever I want!" Phoenix called down defiantly. "Oh, hey guys, look who showed up!" Phoenix waved at the Flock. "Come on! The boat won't sink… anytime soon…"

Max walked down towards the boat and up the gangplank with the Flock following her, wary of everything around her. Kraken smiled at her, trying to be friendly. "I'm sorry if Phoenix came on a little strong, she can be quite a handful. There's food down below, if you want some."

Max scowled, still untrusting. Kraken noticed immediately.

"… Or Roc can bring it up for you. That's cool too." Kraken said. "Erm… Alright then, Roc! Release the anchor! Phoenix, put up the mizzenmast!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Phoenix called down. "The anchor needs to be pulled up, moron. And I have no idea what the hell a mizzenmast is. This boat uses a motor!"

"You take the fun out of everything." Kraken muttered, turning the wheel to the left, and the boat headed towards the mouth of the harbor.

/

Sorry about the shortness of the chapter, but the next one will be longer and full of seafaring adventure!


	8. Boats Are Cool Too

Yeah I can't really think of anything to write here, so I'll just start the next chapter.

/

It had been fifteen minutes since the Flock had set foot on the boat. In that time, Gazzy and Iggy had wolfed down twenty sandwiches, Fang hadn't talked, and Phoenix hadn't gotten down from the mast. Nudge and Angel were sitting side by side, their backs against the right side of the boat.

"Phoenix? Are you going to come down now?" Kraken called up. "I could use a break."

"Fine." Phoenix jumped off the mast, landed on her feet, and struck a pose.

"Ten points." Kraken smiled and stepped away from the wheel. He stretched out his arms and yawned. "How long until we hit land?"

"About half an hour… Yeah, half an hour… Probably… Maybe… I have absolutely no idea whatsoever… What direction are we supposed to go again?"

Kraken pushed Phoenix away from the wheel. "Just let me drive."

Phoenix grinned and leaned whispered to Gazzy and Iggy. "And that is how you get out of driving a boat." She climbed down the stairs into the cabin, and disappeared from sight.

Max walked over towards Kraken. "I want to know something."

"Why Phoenix is kind of… unstable?" Kraken filled in.

"Yes. Was she always like that?"

Kraken was silent for a bit. "No. Well… So I hear. Roc is the only one who knew her before the whole… 'crazy' thing. Look… Phoe is a great person. She cares for everyone on the island. She's spent almost two years running around and breaking genetic experiments like us out of labs. Just don't get on her bad side. You don't want to see her bad side."

"How come we've never seen her before?" Max asked.

"She's been keeping her distance." Kraken explained, keeping the boat steady. "People have been following you, and she doesn't want to risk getting captured. Every step you take, Jeb is always a step behind. But don't worry, the island is safe, Jeb can't reach you there without us knowing about it."

"If you're lying to us…" Max started to threaten Kraken. "If you threaten my Flock, there will be hell to pay.'

Kraken chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Max asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I used almost the same threat when I met Phoenix for the first time."

"How did you meet? Did she break you out of a lab?"

"Yep." The blue haired boy replied. "Last year. There was a place in the Maldives, a group of islands off the coast of India. Phoenix and Sekhmet pulled me and Hydra out."

"Sekhmet?"

"She's another hybrid. She was an experiment in alternates to Erasers. She's part lion, really scary."

"But now they're replacing the Erasers with robots."

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid of them. Robots are so much easier to take down than werewolf wanna bees."

Max smiled in reply. With a small wave she walked away from Kraken and over to Fang. "Did you hear all that?"

Fang nodded. "We need to be on our guard once we hit land."

/

Yeah, I can't think of anything to say here… Again…

R&R!


	9. Box Full of Kittens

Sorry it's been awhile since my last chapter, I've been super busy with school lately, but here it is! The long awaited (probably not) island.

/

"LAND AHOY!" Phoenix yelled from the bow.

"Will you keep your voice down?" Kraken asked, turning the wheel, heading for a mass of land in the distance.

"Is that a lighthouse?" Max asked, pointing to a large cylindrical silhouette positioned just off the land mass. When the spotlight swung around and illuminated the water around them, Max's question was answered.

Kraken kept the wheel steady as Roc came up from the depths of the ship. Everyone gathered on the deck, preparing to depart. The moon hung just over the horizon, illuminating the island. Little pinpricks of light indicated there were buildings all across the island.

"Home sweet home." Phoenix said aloud, making Roc and Kraken smile.

The boat grew closer and fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to a short dock. Phoenix jumped off and landed heavily on the dock. Roc threw her a line and she tied off the line.

The Flock jumped off of the boat, and followed Phoenix to the main island.

"I know it doesn't look like much now, since it's kind of, ya'know, dark, but we've tried our best to make this place a home to everyone."

"How many people are here?" Max asked.

"About thirty of us, but we have a constant rescue operation." Kraken replied, coming up behind them.

"WAIT!" Phoe suddenly exclaimed, and whirled around, scanning all of the people. "Oh bloody hell! We left Hydra on the mainland! This is not going to go over well…"

Kraken sighed. "We are so screwed…"

"Do we have anyone on the mainland?" Phoenix asked Roc, who nodded.

"Who?" she asked.

He glared at her.

"Oops, sorry. Um… Oh right! Fenris is coming back tomorrow right? Send out a signal, tell him to pick up Hydra on his way back." Roc nodded and headed off towards one of the buildings in the distance.

Phoenix gestured to the Flock, beckoning them forward towards the main island.

"I have a couple questions." Max said.

"Ask away." Phoenix replied, leading them on a grass covered path towards a stone castle-like building.

"How come we haven't heard about this place before?" Max asked.

"To be honest, your whole Flock is like… A box of kittens… But the box is made out of dynamite… And all the kittens are genetically mutated…"

"I don't follow…" Fang said.

Kraken spoke up from behind them. "She said that you guys are being watched by the Whitecoats too closely, remember, I already told Max about it."

"And why are we kittens?" Nudge asked.

"… I don't know, box of kittens is always a good metaphor… Where was I?"

"Whitecoats." Gazzy prompted.

"Oh, yeah." Phoenix thought for a few seconds. "So, basically, every person on the island has orders not to go anywhere near you. We can't risk being compromised. Some of us more than others…"

Fang walked a little faster so he could walk next to Phoenix. "I have a question."

"Ah-yes?"

"When we first met you, you said you could 'legally kill whoever gets in your way'."

Phoenix smiled. "Legally? I meant IL- legally. The prefix really does make all the difference."

The whole Flock stared at her.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked sarcastically. "Oh, hey, we're here. So, basically this is the dorm-house-thing. There are rooms on the bottom floor for guests, AKA, you. Kraken, show them the way, will you? I really need to go set something on fire."

Phoenix disappeared into the night, kind of like a pyro, female, ginger, Batman. Kraken opened the heavy wooden door to the dorms and led them inside.

/

Hey, so I hoped you liked it, I know, this was kind of a random chapter. I literally had no idea where to go from them arriving on the island, so I kind of just made it up as I went along.


End file.
